Learning to Fly (5/?)
TITLE: Learning to Fly (5/?)
AUTHOR: MelDomingo
RATING: NC-17 (some parts anyway...)
PAIRING: Callie/Erica
SUMMARY: Set after the season 4 finale kiss. Coming out can be quite the rocky journey...
DISCLAIMER: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Previous chapters here:
CHAPTER ONE, CHAPTER TWO, CHAPTER THREE, CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
A few days had passed since Callie had come to Erica's doorstep to beg for her forgiveness. Ever since then, she had thanked her lucky stars that Erica was kind enough to let her back into her life. Over and over, her mind had played out multitudes of scenarios where it didn't work out so well. It made Callie all the more grateful that Erica was not as unforgiving in her personal life as she was with her career at Seattle Grace.
Life had pretty much returned to a state of normalcy for the pair. Any talk about the kiss that happened outside the hospital's doors was quickly replaced by standard hospital gossip about Meredith Grey and Dr. McDreamy. Christina had pretty much kept to herself about their budding relationship and Callie could only assume that it was part of another ploy to get in on more surgeries with Erica. In any case, life had pretty much returned to normal.
Unfortunately, normal meant days spent running around the hospital checking on patients and performing surgery after surgery. Despite the fact that both wanted to spend time together to simply adjust to the newest development of their relationship, work managed to tug them in separate directions that barely allowed them to share a cup of coffee together.
Callie was both relived and excited to be able to finally spend a 15 minute lunch with her beautiful best friend turned lover. She walked into the cafeteria with her head held high and headed to the counter where she picked up a garden salad for Erica and a grilled cheese and a bag of chips for herself. She figured that she was practically glowing when the cashier complimented her on the 1000 megawatt smile she was wearing. Giggling to herself, she walked across the seating area finally settling on the table that she and Erica have always shared.
It wasn't unusual for Erica to take a few minutes to meet up with her best friend. Surgeries rarely ran on time and it wasn't out of the ordinary for someone to pull her aside for a consult as she attempted to cross hospital grounds to the cafeteria. Much to Callie's surprise, Erica strode into the room with determination only seconds after she sat at the table. It always amazed Callie how the fairer woman could walk into a room with a stone hard exterior and then instantly melt into a smile when their eyes would meet. It was an endearing quality that made the Latin woman fall even harder for her.
“Hey, stranger...” Callie smiled back as Erica navigated her way to her awaiting chair.
“Really Callie,” Erica sat in the chair next to her. “It's only been a day or two since we've had some time to sit and spend a few minutes together.”
“4 days, 10 hours, and 35 minutes to be exact.” Callie teased. She noticed that the blonde had chosen the chair immediately to her right. Usually they would sit across the table from each other and enjoy playful banter from across the table. This time they were inches away from each other. Even though Callie's heart was racing with fear, she slid her hand under the table and gently placed it on her lover's thigh. “I missed you...”
“I missed you too...” Erica smiled back. She was never one for public displays of affection in the middle of her workplace but she was willing to let this one slide. She understood how difficult it was for Callie to risk being discovered. She reached under the table and interlaced her fingers with Callie's caramel colored ones. “I'm glad we finally found a few minutes to spend some time together... It's too bad it has to be at work.”
“I know...” Callie whispered as she squeezed her lovers fingers with her own and then let go. The idea of showing any kind of public display of affection still scared the shit out of her... especially while they were at work. Since she managed to avoid continued scrutiny by her many co-workers over the last few days, she didn't want to do anything to upset the balance. Everyone was happy talking about people other than herself and Erica and she liked it that way.
“A grilled cheese sandwich and chips?” Erica interrogated as the women turned to feast on the cafeteria meals in front of them. “Really Callie, are you capable of eating ANYTHING healthy?”
“What? It's bread and cheese and little slices of potatoes... I've got three of the major food groups covered right here!”
The blonde woman smiled and shook her head. She made a note to herself to try to get her lover to eat a tad better. “Well... I guess I'll let it slide this time.”
A few seconds passed before Callie decided to break the silence with a request that had been brewing in her head over the last day. “Take me out on a date, Erica.”
Erica looked up from her salad still chewing on the mouthful she had just taken in. “Huh?”
“I know we've been out a million times before but it's just not the same. I want to go out on a date with you.”
“Ok... We're both off at eight tonight. Let's go over to Joe's to have some drinks and play darts.”
“No Erica, I want to go out... I want to get all dressed up and look pretty for you and I want you to whisk me away for a romantic evening.”
Erica thought to herself and smiled. She could not wait until she could see Callie dressed to the nines and ready to go out for a night on the town. “Okay... I'll tell you what. We both have the weekend off. I'll pick you up from the apartment around 7 on Saturday. Just be ready to go out for the night and I will take care of the rest.”
“Great! Then it's a date.” Callie smiled as she took a full bite of her sandwich. She couldn't wait for the next two days to pass so she could finally spend a well deserved romantic evening with her beautiful lover.
******
“What the hell are you doing?”
Surprised by the voice, Callie quickly turned around to see her roommate standing on the other side of the open bathroom door, staring at her through the mirror. Without her realizing it, Christina had just gotten home from her shift at the hospital. Since she thought had the apartment to herself, Callie had spent the first half of the day stressing about the perfect dress to wear and then spending the second half in the bathroom bathing, shaving, plucking, and meticulously applying makeup.
When Christina walked in the door, Callie was at the mirror in the bathroom in the midst of applying her favorite eye liner. Believing she had the place to herself for the rest of the night, Callie didn’t think twice about blasting her iPod on her speaker system and singing to every song that shuffled in. Christina had caught her in the midst of singing “Whenever, Wherever” and shaking her hips Shakira style.
“Dammit Christina, do you want me to poke an eye out!? You scared the crap out of me.”
“What the... Did your suitcase decide to vomit out every piece of clothing you own into the living room?”
Callie stepped out of the bathroom past her roommate to take a cursory glance around the room. Indeed, she had made a complete mess of her living space. She had stopped by her storage unit earlier in the day to bring back a bag of clothes to assemble her outfit for the evening. She had settled on her standard “little black dress” number, which of course, happened to be at the bottom of the bag. Now, every piece of discarded clothing was thrown carelessly around the room like wounded soldiers on a battlefield.
“Yeah… um… I know I made a mess. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Slightly embarrassed, Callie headed to her stereo to turn the ear piercing music down.
“Ok, whatever…” Christina headed towards the kitchen and threw her bag on the counter. She headed for her favorite cereal and started munching on it straight from the box. “Why are you getting all pretty and girly anyway?”
“Don’t you ever use a bowl?” Callie laughed as she sat on the couch. Despite the slight surprise, Christina’s arrival to the apartment was a welcome break from her frantic ritual of getting ready for the evening.
“You’re dodging my question…” Christina shot Callie a smug smirk.
Callie was pretty sure that she had already figured out. Christina was sharp and could instantly put two and two together. Nevertheless, she was figured that her roommate was enjoying poking fun at her.
“If you must know… Erica and I are going out for the night.”
“Well that explains things…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Christina threw a handful of cereal into her mouth and moved to plant herself on the easy chair across from the couch. “Hahn’s been a nervous wreck for the past two days. She’s been extra snappy with the interns and I’m pretty sure I caught her loosing a little bit of focus in the OR yesterday. I just assumed that I was seeing things but now I know for sure that it actually happened.”
“Yeah right… Are you sure we’re talking about the same Erica Hahn?”
“I’m telling you Callie… You’re breaking down the ice queen’s exterior.”
Callie couldn’t believe her ears. Of course she adored that softer side of Erica Hahn. It was a side of her best friend that she thought was only revealed to herself. It made Callie smile thinking that the beautifully soft and caring side of her lover was starting to show to everyone else in the world.
“You know, she’ll take a scalpel to your chest if you EVER say anything about it.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m not saying a word. Since you two got all lovey dovey, she’s let me in on more surgeries and actually let me do more than hold a freakin’ retractor.”
“Are you sure that it’s not because of what Richard said to her? You know, she took that kind of hard.”
“Yeah, whatever… All I know is that I’m back in the game again and it feels good!”
As if neither was expecting it, the doorbell to the apartment rang and interrupted Christina’s tiny moment of glory.
Callie smiled and shook her head, “Looks like your mentor’s here… You behave yourself!”
Christina shot her the most innocent catholic schoolgirl angelic face as she made her way to the door. The image that greeted her was more beautiful than a million sunrises on the coastline. Erica was dressed in a well tailored dark grey pantsuit with a fitted turquoise blouse that teased Callie with a hint of what lie beneath. Her blonde locks were styled in perfect curls that accented every feature of her face and brought out her piercing blue eyes even more.
“Hey you…” Callie grinned from ear to ear as she leaned forward for a light peck on the fairer woman’s lips. “Wow… you look… amazing.”
Erica gazed at her lover and drank in the sight of the beautiful Latin woman in a short black dress that hugged her delicious curves in all the right places. “And you are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen... These are for you.”
Erica pulled two dozed long stemmed red roses from behind her back and held them in front of Callie with pride. She had spent all day trying to find the perfect bouquet of flowers at the farmer’s market. It wasn’t until she stumbled upon a small florist vendor that she found a lonely bouquet of flower begging to be taken home.
“Oh my god, Erica… They’re beautiful.” In a slight state of shock, Callie took the bundle of roses into her hands and placed another gentle kiss on the blonde’s lips. “I had no idea you were such a romantic. Thank you.”
Out of the blue, both women heard a slight cough emanate from the other side of the apartment. Callie had almost forgotten that her roommate was sitting in the living room when Erica arrived. The pair turned to find that Christina was still seated on the easy chair. She seemed to be quite content with watching the couple and munching on cereal like she was eating popcorn at a movie theater. Quickly, Callie turned to her date and could see that she wasn’t too happy about this development.
“I swear Yang, if you tell a single soul at the hospital about what you saw tonight, I will make sure that you don’t see the inside of an OR for the next week. I don’t care what Richard says…”
Quickly, Christina stood up. “Yes ma’am… Dr. Hahn…. Not a word.” She skulked towards the sanctity of her bedroom like a petulant child who had just been caught with her hands in the cookie jar.
Callie couldn’t help but laugh. It was always amusing to see the banter between the two cardio surgeons. “Don’t worry, Erica. I don’t think she’ll say a word… C’mon, let’s get out of here. I’m excited about our first official date.”
Erica immediately softened at those words and turned to take Callie by the hand to lead her out the door and into a night full of surprises.
******
A/N: I know it’s evil to leave you all hanging in the middle of their night together. I just wanted to get this part all out of my head so I can move on to the next. I have some great ideas brewing in my head for their night on the town. By the way, do you think I captured the Christina/Callie relationship in their dialogue? Hope you enjoyed it!
AUTHOR: MelDomingo
RATING: NC-17 (some parts anyway...)
PAIRING: Callie/Erica
SUMMARY: Set after the season 4 finale kiss. Coming out can be quite the rocky journey...
DISCLAIMER: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Previous chapters here:
CHAPTER ONE, CHAPTER TWO, CHAPTER THREE, CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
A few days had passed since Callie had come to Erica's doorstep to beg for her forgiveness. Ever since then, she had thanked her lucky stars that Erica was kind enough to let her back into her life. Over and over, her mind had played out multitudes of scenarios where it didn't work out so well. It made Callie all the more grateful that Erica was not as unforgiving in her personal life as she was with her career at Seattle Grace.
Life had pretty much returned to a state of normalcy for the pair. Any talk about the kiss that happened outside the hospital's doors was quickly replaced by standard hospital gossip about Meredith Grey and Dr. McDreamy. Christina had pretty much kept to herself about their budding relationship and Callie could only assume that it was part of another ploy to get in on more surgeries with Erica. In any case, life had pretty much returned to normal.
Unfortunately, normal meant days spent running around the hospital checking on patients and performing surgery after surgery. Despite the fact that both wanted to spend time together to simply adjust to the newest development of their relationship, work managed to tug them in separate directions that barely allowed them to share a cup of coffee together.
Callie was both relived and excited to be able to finally spend a 15 minute lunch with her beautiful best friend turned lover. She walked into the cafeteria with her head held high and headed to the counter where she picked up a garden salad for Erica and a grilled cheese and a bag of chips for herself. She figured that she was practically glowing when the cashier complimented her on the 1000 megawatt smile she was wearing. Giggling to herself, she walked across the seating area finally settling on the table that she and Erica have always shared.
It wasn't unusual for Erica to take a few minutes to meet up with her best friend. Surgeries rarely ran on time and it wasn't out of the ordinary for someone to pull her aside for a consult as she attempted to cross hospital grounds to the cafeteria. Much to Callie's surprise, Erica strode into the room with determination only seconds after she sat at the table. It always amazed Callie how the fairer woman could walk into a room with a stone hard exterior and then instantly melt into a smile when their eyes would meet. It was an endearing quality that made the Latin woman fall even harder for her.
“Hey, stranger...” Callie smiled back as Erica navigated her way to her awaiting chair.
“Really Callie,” Erica sat in the chair next to her. “It's only been a day or two since we've had some time to sit and spend a few minutes together.”
“4 days, 10 hours, and 35 minutes to be exact.” Callie teased. She noticed that the blonde had chosen the chair immediately to her right. Usually they would sit across the table from each other and enjoy playful banter from across the table. This time they were inches away from each other. Even though Callie's heart was racing with fear, she slid her hand under the table and gently placed it on her lover's thigh. “I missed you...”
“I missed you too...” Erica smiled back. She was never one for public displays of affection in the middle of her workplace but she was willing to let this one slide. She understood how difficult it was for Callie to risk being discovered. She reached under the table and interlaced her fingers with Callie's caramel colored ones. “I'm glad we finally found a few minutes to spend some time together... It's too bad it has to be at work.”
“I know...” Callie whispered as she squeezed her lovers fingers with her own and then let go. The idea of showing any kind of public display of affection still scared the shit out of her... especially while they were at work. Since she managed to avoid continued scrutiny by her many co-workers over the last few days, she didn't want to do anything to upset the balance. Everyone was happy talking about people other than herself and Erica and she liked it that way.
“A grilled cheese sandwich and chips?” Erica interrogated as the women turned to feast on the cafeteria meals in front of them. “Really Callie, are you capable of eating ANYTHING healthy?”
“What? It's bread and cheese and little slices of potatoes... I've got three of the major food groups covered right here!”
The blonde woman smiled and shook her head. She made a note to herself to try to get her lover to eat a tad better. “Well... I guess I'll let it slide this time.”
A few seconds passed before Callie decided to break the silence with a request that had been brewing in her head over the last day. “Take me out on a date, Erica.”
Erica looked up from her salad still chewing on the mouthful she had just taken in. “Huh?”
“I know we've been out a million times before but it's just not the same. I want to go out on a date with you.”
“Ok... We're both off at eight tonight. Let's go over to Joe's to have some drinks and play darts.”
“No Erica, I want to go out... I want to get all dressed up and look pretty for you and I want you to whisk me away for a romantic evening.”
Erica thought to herself and smiled. She could not wait until she could see Callie dressed to the nines and ready to go out for a night on the town. “Okay... I'll tell you what. We both have the weekend off. I'll pick you up from the apartment around 7 on Saturday. Just be ready to go out for the night and I will take care of the rest.”
“Great! Then it's a date.” Callie smiled as she took a full bite of her sandwich. She couldn't wait for the next two days to pass so she could finally spend a well deserved romantic evening with her beautiful lover.
******
“What the hell are you doing?”
Surprised by the voice, Callie quickly turned around to see her roommate standing on the other side of the open bathroom door, staring at her through the mirror. Without her realizing it, Christina had just gotten home from her shift at the hospital. Since she thought had the apartment to herself, Callie had spent the first half of the day stressing about the perfect dress to wear and then spending the second half in the bathroom bathing, shaving, plucking, and meticulously applying makeup.
When Christina walked in the door, Callie was at the mirror in the bathroom in the midst of applying her favorite eye liner. Believing she had the place to herself for the rest of the night, Callie didn’t think twice about blasting her iPod on her speaker system and singing to every song that shuffled in. Christina had caught her in the midst of singing “Whenever, Wherever” and shaking her hips Shakira style.
“Dammit Christina, do you want me to poke an eye out!? You scared the crap out of me.”
“What the... Did your suitcase decide to vomit out every piece of clothing you own into the living room?”
Callie stepped out of the bathroom past her roommate to take a cursory glance around the room. Indeed, she had made a complete mess of her living space. She had stopped by her storage unit earlier in the day to bring back a bag of clothes to assemble her outfit for the evening. She had settled on her standard “little black dress” number, which of course, happened to be at the bottom of the bag. Now, every piece of discarded clothing was thrown carelessly around the room like wounded soldiers on a battlefield.
“Yeah… um… I know I made a mess. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Slightly embarrassed, Callie headed to her stereo to turn the ear piercing music down.
“Ok, whatever…” Christina headed towards the kitchen and threw her bag on the counter. She headed for her favorite cereal and started munching on it straight from the box. “Why are you getting all pretty and girly anyway?”
“Don’t you ever use a bowl?” Callie laughed as she sat on the couch. Despite the slight surprise, Christina’s arrival to the apartment was a welcome break from her frantic ritual of getting ready for the evening.
“You’re dodging my question…” Christina shot Callie a smug smirk.
Callie was pretty sure that she had already figured out. Christina was sharp and could instantly put two and two together. Nevertheless, she was figured that her roommate was enjoying poking fun at her.
“If you must know… Erica and I are going out for the night.”
“Well that explains things…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Christina threw a handful of cereal into her mouth and moved to plant herself on the easy chair across from the couch. “Hahn’s been a nervous wreck for the past two days. She’s been extra snappy with the interns and I’m pretty sure I caught her loosing a little bit of focus in the OR yesterday. I just assumed that I was seeing things but now I know for sure that it actually happened.”
“Yeah right… Are you sure we’re talking about the same Erica Hahn?”
“I’m telling you Callie… You’re breaking down the ice queen’s exterior.”
Callie couldn’t believe her ears. Of course she adored that softer side of Erica Hahn. It was a side of her best friend that she thought was only revealed to herself. It made Callie smile thinking that the beautifully soft and caring side of her lover was starting to show to everyone else in the world.
“You know, she’ll take a scalpel to your chest if you EVER say anything about it.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m not saying a word. Since you two got all lovey dovey, she’s let me in on more surgeries and actually let me do more than hold a freakin’ retractor.”
“Are you sure that it’s not because of what Richard said to her? You know, she took that kind of hard.”
“Yeah, whatever… All I know is that I’m back in the game again and it feels good!”
As if neither was expecting it, the doorbell to the apartment rang and interrupted Christina’s tiny moment of glory.
Callie smiled and shook her head, “Looks like your mentor’s here… You behave yourself!”
Christina shot her the most innocent catholic schoolgirl angelic face as she made her way to the door. The image that greeted her was more beautiful than a million sunrises on the coastline. Erica was dressed in a well tailored dark grey pantsuit with a fitted turquoise blouse that teased Callie with a hint of what lie beneath. Her blonde locks were styled in perfect curls that accented every feature of her face and brought out her piercing blue eyes even more.
“Hey you…” Callie grinned from ear to ear as she leaned forward for a light peck on the fairer woman’s lips. “Wow… you look… amazing.”
Erica gazed at her lover and drank in the sight of the beautiful Latin woman in a short black dress that hugged her delicious curves in all the right places. “And you are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen... These are for you.”
Erica pulled two dozed long stemmed red roses from behind her back and held them in front of Callie with pride. She had spent all day trying to find the perfect bouquet of flowers at the farmer’s market. It wasn’t until she stumbled upon a small florist vendor that she found a lonely bouquet of flower begging to be taken home.
“Oh my god, Erica… They’re beautiful.” In a slight state of shock, Callie took the bundle of roses into her hands and placed another gentle kiss on the blonde’s lips. “I had no idea you were such a romantic. Thank you.”
Out of the blue, both women heard a slight cough emanate from the other side of the apartment. Callie had almost forgotten that her roommate was sitting in the living room when Erica arrived. The pair turned to find that Christina was still seated on the easy chair. She seemed to be quite content with watching the couple and munching on cereal like she was eating popcorn at a movie theater. Quickly, Callie turned to her date and could see that she wasn’t too happy about this development.
“I swear Yang, if you tell a single soul at the hospital about what you saw tonight, I will make sure that you don’t see the inside of an OR for the next week. I don’t care what Richard says…”
Quickly, Christina stood up. “Yes ma’am… Dr. Hahn…. Not a word.” She skulked towards the sanctity of her bedroom like a petulant child who had just been caught with her hands in the cookie jar.
Callie couldn’t help but laugh. It was always amusing to see the banter between the two cardio surgeons. “Don’t worry, Erica. I don’t think she’ll say a word… C’mon, let’s get out of here. I’m excited about our first official date.”
Erica immediately softened at those words and turned to take Callie by the hand to lead her out the door and into a night full of surprises.
******
A/N: I know it’s evil to leave you all hanging in the middle of their night together. I just wanted to get this part all out of my head so I can move on to the next. I have some great ideas brewing in my head for their night on the town. By the way, do you think I captured the Christina/Callie relationship in their dialogue? Hope you enjoyed it!